French automobile manufacturer Renault will invest about EUR420m for the renovation of its Georges Besse vehicle assembly plant in Douai.
With the investment, the manufacturer expects to increase the production capacity of the plant to build five bodies on a single assembly line.
The manufacturer will introduce new technologies including the hot stamping, expansion of the plastics unit with two new presses and a new assembly line, aluminum stamping along with the re-gauging of some tools and installations in the paint shop.
Renault group Manufacturing and Supply Chain executive vice-president Thierry Bollore said the company aims to move the plant into a new segment of vehicles and to manage diversity.
"This will make it less dependent on market fluctuations and thus more efficient." Bollore said.
Additionally, the company will undertake the transformation and modernization of tools, introduction of a new panel line and switch to a single line organized in a large U-shape.
After completion of the renovation, the plant will start manufacturing the models including the Espace, Laguna and Scenic from 2014.
